


The Good Doctor - Until I Can Fend for Myself

by Soquilii9



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: Autism, Bullying, Gen, High School, mentor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-29 03:59:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12622704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soquilii9/pseuds/Soquilii9
Summary: Shaun has lost his guardian angel and faces high school alone.





	The Good Doctor - Until I Can Fend for Myself

 

Despite the seat belt’s restriction, Shaun Murphy rocked gently in the front seat of Dr. Glassman’s car all the way from his home to the new high school.  Glassman watched him from the corner of his eye, almost as anxious as Shaun apparently was.

As his mentor, Dr. Glassman had watched over the autistic fifteen-year-old for most of the past year, after his brother died and his father disowned him.  Foster families were a dime a dozen in Casper, Wyoming, but none wanted him.  To prevent the boy from being sent to an institution, Glassman had agreed to take him under his wing.  Shaun’s innate intelligence was too valuable to bury under prescriptions of Dexedrine in a mental ward.  Glassman had observed the complete focus Shaun gave to his studies; he was reading medical texts in Glassman’s own library while other boys his age were surreptitiously reading porn and playing football.

Yet Shaun’s autism – Dr. Glassman refused to view it as a disability – hindered his social skills.  High school would be fraught with teasing, ambiguities, subtle looks; gestures and practical jokes – things Shaun didn’t understand and would have to deal with every day.  Sure, he could afford a private tutor for Shaun – but where would that get him?  One education at the expense of another.  Shaun had to learn to cope with the world, especially now that his greatest protector – his brother – was dead.  Glassman believed that, just as children with Cerebral Palsy could, in some cases, learn to use their muscles, Shaun could learn social cues.  What better arena than high school?

Still, he was scared for his protégé and he sensed Shaun was even more so.

The car came to a stop in front of the brick building.

‘It’ll be ok, Shaun.’

Shaun released his seat belt and dug his toy scalpel out of the pocket of his backpack, gripping it in his fist.

‘You know, Shaun – it might be better if you wrap that up in something.’

‘Why.’

Glassman shrugged.  ‘Oh…so you don’t lose it, maybe,’ he said, tactfully.

‘So kids won’t laugh at me.’

‘Well…that, too,’ the doctor conceded.  ‘They won’t understand.  Sometimes kids – what they don’t understand can be very amusing to them.’

‘I don’t have anything.’

‘Here –‘ Glassman opened the glove compartment and handed him a blue shop rag.  ‘Use this; it’s clean and I don’t need it.’  He handed it over.

Shaun laid it out on his palm and placed the plastic toy scalpel he got from Steve on it.  He folded the cotton fabric with care and precision around it.

‘All set?’

‘I’m ready.’

‘Have a good first day.’

Shaun left the car without another word and bravely marched into the school holding his backpack, head held high.

~~~

The school called five hours later.

‘Dr. Glassman?’

‘Yes,’ he answered, apprehensively,

‘We need you to come pick up Shaun.’

‘Why?  What happened?  Is he all right?’

‘Yes,’ said the principal.  ‘There was an incident in gym class.  Some of the boys ganged up on him.  Just some scrapes and bruises.’

Dr. Glassman ran a hand through his thinning hair.  ‘I spoke to each of his teachers before school started.’

‘We’re aware of that.  But gym is a little different.  Coach put one of the boys in charge to oversee calisthenics while he took a call.  Your boy, as you know, is physically awkward and the boy in charge called attention to it.  The situation went downhill from there.  They got him down on the gym floor, and…’

Images played in the doctor’s mind; images from stories Shaun had told him about growing up; about boys on the soccer field beating him bloody; the times Steve had run to his older brother’s defense; time after time after time.  Glassman found himself wishing Steve was still alive.

‘Dr. Glassman?’  The principal wasn’t sure if he was still on the line.

‘Yes…’

‘Wouldn’t Shaun be happier in another school?’

‘What other high school _is_ there in Casper?  You expect us to leave town?’  Glassman’s voice was rising in irritation.

‘Look, all I meant was…’

‘All you meant was, let him be someone else’s problem.  There’s a fault in your logic.  Shaun’s grades have consistently been in the top ten percent.  _He’s_ not the problem.  Trust me, he’ll end up performing the brain surgery those hoodlums you call students will eventually need after bashing their heads together on the football field.’

Dr. Glassman could hear the principal draw a deep breath.  ‘So - do you have any suggestions as to what can be done?’

Dr. Glassman thought for a moment.  ‘Give me ten or fifteen minutes.  Call every student, including Shaun, to the auditorium for fifteen minutes before lunch tomorrow.  I’ll speak to them.  Let’s clarify the unknown, educate, remove fear - appeal to their better natures, if they have them.’

‘I’m sure they do, Dr. Glassman.  All right, I’ll arrange it.  Are you going to pick up Shaun today?’

‘No.  Tell him to clean himself up and report to his next class.  I’ll pick him up after school.’

The principal replied with a tone of greater respect in his voice.  ‘Actually…I think that’s a good idea.  All right.  I’ll tell him.’

~~~

That night, Shaun remained aloof, remote; his way of expressing anger toward Dr. Glassman for making him remain at school.  Steve, his brother, had been the guardian he could always count on.  Then Steve died.  When Dr. Glassman took him in, he expected the same treatment.  It was a shock to his system to learn that comfort would no longer be forthcoming.  He felt betrayed.

His mentor had treated his bruises and scrapes, checked his homework, fed him dinner and sent him to bed.  Shaun lay in the dark, eyes wide open, clutching his toy scalpel.

Dr. Glassman, meanwhile, was composing the speech he planned to give the next day.

~~~

The entire student body was assembled at 11:45 am the following day, murmuring among themselves when Dr. Glassman came down the aisle and stood before the podium.  He waited for silence, then began to speak.

‘Thank you all for coming.  I’ll be brief; I know you are all eager to go to lunch.

‘I called this special assemblage to talk to you as young adults.

‘There is a new student among you.  Some of you have known Shaun Murphy since grade school, maybe even earlier.  I don’t know; I haven’t been in Casper that long.  You may have noticed he’s a bit different from the rest of you.’

Small snickers could be heard rippling among the students.

‘Well, that’s because he was born a little different.  It’s nothing he chose; nothing he sought; just a package he was given that the rest of you didn’t get.  It’s a condition of the brain called autism.  Now, in the dictionary and in medical journals, the definition is:  _a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts_.

‘Sounds a little complicated, doesn’t it?  I’ll explain it as a metaphor; most of you should know that term.  How many of you know computers?’

Jacket sleeves rustled and jewelry jangled as nearly all raised their hands.

‘Ok, fine.  How many use a PC?’  There was a large show of hands.

‘And how many use a Mac?’  Only a few raised their hands.

‘Just out of curiosity, how many can use both?’  Two students raised their hands.

‘There you have it.  Two completely different systems.  Shaun’s brain runs a Mac operating system.  The rest of you are PCs.  They are different types of brains, good at different things, but they're _both computers._

‘Shaun has difficulty reading social cues, like this.’  Dr. Glassman elicited giggles when he made an amusing moue.  ‘Jokes are difficult for him.  Anyone ever see _Star Trek_ , the one with the android?  Shaun is a little more like Data than the rest of you.  Other than that,’ he shrugged, ‘he’s _just like you_.  He wants to make friends, _just like you_.  He wants to be accepted, _just like you_.  He’s here to learn, _just like you_.’

Dr. Glassman paused.  ‘I suggest you let him.  And I sincerely hope I don’t hear of another incident like the one yesterday.  You all are young adults now.  Your teachers, your parents, your principal and yes, even me – we all expect you to act like it.

Thank you for your time.’

Dr. Glassman left the podium and walked up the aisle without glancing Shaun’s way.  He was gratified to hear several positive comments from the students.  Out of the corner of his eye he saw many of them clapping Shaun on the back, an action which Shaun no doubt abhorred, but it was better than blows.

When he drove up to the school to pick up Shaun after classes, he was surprised to see the boy almost smiling.  His eyes didn’t dart here and there and his hands weren’t occupied by his toy scalpel.  Instead, they were folded calmly in his lap.

‘Your…speech.  You did that for me today.’

‘Yes, Shaun, I felt it necessary to do that to ease the way for you a bit.  High school…can be tough.’

‘You helped me kind of like Steve helped me.  Only different.’

‘So you’re not angry with me?’

‘No.  You helped me.  They were all nice to me today.’

‘Good.  Let’s hope it lasts.  But one thing I want to say to you now is – I got you through the door.  It’s going to be up to you now to find ways to deal with bullies.  Life is filled with them, Shaun.  You don’t have to be autistic to find them.  But you’re smart - I think you can figure out ways to handle yourself.  Steve and I had your back a long time until you could fend for yourself.  You’re in high school now.  I think you can.’

Shaun answered in the only way he knew to express his willingness to try.

‘I’m hungry.  Can we have pancakes for dinner?’

 

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> After a thorough search on the WWW I'm proud to have written the first fanfic on this new show.  
> Although I've been struggling to write lately and frankly have had difficulty with this character and his autism, I still want to try to write Shaun Murphy. I think he deserves to have more of his stories told. I hope my readers will be patient as I try to find new challenges for this wonderful TV character!
> 
> Soquilii


End file.
